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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/essayonstarspangOOsaliiala 


4u  u.  ^ ' 
AN  ESSAY     ^^^^' 


STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER 


NATIONAL   SONGS 


BY    STEPHEN    SALISBURY, 
Mtmbtr  tftke  Ameriewt  Antiquarian  Society,  ^^  Jtc. 


Son  btfon  i}K  Slnuiuan  flfatignarian  Socidg,  at  Qtdr  9[iiitital  fK-*m%.  BdxSax  21,  1872. 


WITH  ADDmOITAI.  HOTES  AND  SONGS. 


WOBCKSTKK,    X  A  8  8. 

FBIKTZD     BT     CHARLSS     HAMILTOV. 

1873. 


^- 


e<yyy^ 


With  the  respects  of  the  writer. 


PBIVATKLY    PRINTED. 


THE  STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER  AND 
NATIONAL  SONGS. 


Ab  a  slight  cloak  of  propriety,  if  not  of  dignity,  for  a 
subject  that  may  be  considered  of  little  importance,  to 
which  I  will  invite  the  attention  of  the  society,  for  a  few 
minutes,  I  will  offer  a  familiar  quotation  from  Andrew 
Fletcher,  of  Saltoun,  a  quotation  of  some  value  to 
Fletcher,  for  it  has  given  him  his  best  hold  on  the  memory 
of  modem  times.  He  writes  :  "  I  knew  a  very  wise  man 
who  believed  that  if  a  man  were  permitted  to  make  all  the 
ballads,  he  need  not  care  who  should  make  the  laws  of 
a  nation."  If  this  should  be  thought  to  be  exaggeration,  it 
will  not  be  doubted  that  national  songs,  in  some  degree, 
form  and  indicate  the  character  of  a  people,  and  are  there- 
fore worthy  of  historical  notice.  I  am  not  aware  that  there 
is  more  important  proof  of  this  power  of  the  Muses  than 
is  found  in  the  influence  of  the  song  entitled  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner"  during  the  struggles  for  the  life  of  our 
nation  in  the  last  twelve  years.  In  the  efforts  and  suffer- 
ings of  the  camp,  the  battle-field  and  the  prison,  and  in  the 
discouragements  and  sacrifices  of  those  who  upheld  the 
national  arm  at  home,  the  untiring  repetition  of  its  inspir- 
ing strains,  and  the  "marching  on"  of  a  jnore  humble  and 
more  energetic  chorus,  kept  up  the  strength  and  enthusiasm 


of  confident  hope.  Thus  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner"  has 
become  a  favorite  of  our  people.  It  is  well  kno\vn  that  it 
was  written  bj  Francis  Scott  Key,  a  young  lawyer  of  Bal- 
timore, in  September,  1814,  and  it  was  begun  on  board  of 
a  ship  of  the  British  fleet  lying  near  Fort  McHenry,  to 
which  he  had  gone  to  negotiate  an  exchange  of  prisoners. 
To  prevent  his  giving  intelligence  to  his  countrymen  of 
the  intention  to  make  a  combined  attack  by  sea  and  land 
on  Baltimore,  he  was  detained  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  There 
he  anxiously  watched  the  flag  of  his  country  floating  over 
the  fort  through  the  day,  and  in  the  darkness  of  the  night 
caught  occasional  glimpses  of  it,  in  the  explosion  of  the 
shells  and  rockets  by  wliich  it  was  assailed ;  and  when 
morning  dawned,  he  saw  with  thrilling  delight  that  the 
beautiful  ensign  still  waved  over  its  brave  defenders.  This 
scene  and  the  emotions  that  it  excited,  he  has  painted  and 
expressed  in  this  pathetic  and  inspiring  song.  The  origin 
of  the  appropriate  tune,  that  gives  strength  and  deeper 
feeling  to  the  words,  is  not  so  well  known.  Every  one  can 
readily  say,  that  the  tune  is  taken  from  the  old  Enghsh 
song,  entitled  "  To  Anacreon  in  Heaven."  But  I  have 
inquired  in  vain  of  the  most  learned  belles  lettres  scholars 
and  musicians  that  I  know  or  could  approach,  for  the  author 
of  the  words  or  the  music,  or  the  date  of  either.  The  song 
as  printed  in  the  "Universal  Songster,"  published  in  Lon- 
don from  1825  to  1834,  has  the  name  of  Ralph  Tomlinson 
as  the  author.  Multiplied  inquiries  and  research  in  all  bio- 
graphies and  indexes  that  I  can  consult,  have  not  discovered 
the  name ;  yet  the  song  has  grace,  beauty  and  wit,  and  is 
enriched  with  happy  classical  ornaments,  and  it  seems  to  be 
a  thing  that  could  not  be  disowned  or  forgotten.     It  existed 


to  be  tlie  model  of  the  song  by  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Jr., 
called  "Adams  and  Liberty,"  at  the  period  when  Thomas 
Moore  was  first  known  as  a  poet,  and  it  is  almost  worthy  of 
his  pen,  but  it  has  never  been  attributed  to  him.  It  is 
commonly  called  an  old  English  song,  but  the  earliest  im- 
print of  it  that  I  have  seen,  is  in  my  copy  of  "The  Vocal 
Companion,"  published  in  Philadelphia,  by  Matthew  Carey, 
in  1796.  The  Nightingale,  printed  in  Boston  in  1804,  has 
the  words  and  the  music,  but  not  the  name  of  the  author. 
It  seems  then  to  be  a  case  in  which  the  best  evidence  must 
be  obtained  from  the  party  on  trial,  and  the  song  must 
speak  for  itself.     Its  first  words  are : 

"  To  Anacreon  in  heaven,  where  he  sat  in  full  glee, 
A  few  sons  of  harmony  sent  their  petition," 

and  the  last  line  and  the  chorus  are : 

"  May  our  club  flourish  happy,  united  and  free ; 
And  long  may  the  Sons  of  Anacreon  entwine 
The  Myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus'  Vine." 

We  have  here  the  fact  that  the  song  was  written  for  a 
musical  club,  called  the  Sons  of  Anacreon.  Of  this  club  I 
can  find  no  other  mention.  With  a  general  resemblance  to 
the  poetry  of  Moore,  there  are  sentences  that  have  not  his 
choice  English,  as  for  instance,  the  line  above,  "May  our 
club  flourish  happy,  united  and  free,"  which  is  more  like  the 
language  of  the  republican  cotemporaries  of  Robert  Treat 
Paine,  than  the  verses  of  the  wits  of  tiie  earlier  time  of  the 
first  Georges  or  of  Queen  Anne,  to  whom  the  song  has 
vaguely  been  attributed. 

The  Historical  Magazine,  vol.  3,  p.  23,  states  that  the 
tune  was  originally  set  to  the  song  "  To  Anacreon  in  heaven," 


6 

by  Dr.  Arnold.  Many  notices  of  Dr.  Samuel  Arnold,  who 
lived  from  1739  to  1802,  do  not  support  this  statement, 
though  they  mention  inferior  music.  The  accompaniment 
is  more  remarkable  than  the  poetry.  Its  character  is  strong 
and  decided,  yet  it  is  graceful  and  flexible,  and  adapts 
itself  with  equal  success  to  the  sport  of  the  revellers,  to 
the  anxious  thoughts  of  the  patriot  prisoner,  and  to  the 
exulting  tones  of  national  strength. 

As  an  apology  for  this  research  of  much  lengtli  and  little 
fruit,  it  may  be  remembered  that  the  successful  investiga- 
tion of  authorship  of  subjects  for  intellectual  entertainment 
is  not  a  waste  of  time  for  idle  curiosity.  The  enjoyment  of 
the  works  of  our  greatest  favorites  is  increased  by  a  sense 
of  personal  gratitude.* 


*  By  the  kindness  of  Hon.  Charles  K.  Tuckerman,  late  U.  S.  Minister  to 
Greece,  a  letter  from  William  Chappell,  Esq.,  F.  S.  A.,  dated  at  Heather  Down, 
Ascot,  Berkshire,  G.  B.,  Jan.  6, 1873,  has  been  obtained,  which  gives  all  that 
can  be  desired,  about  the  origin  of  "  To  Anacreon  in  heaven"  from  very  high 
English  authority  in  the  history  and  the  art  of  Music.  Mr.  Chappell  writes  that 
he  "  made  a  former  correspondent  a  present  of  my  original  copy  and  retained 
only  a  transcript  of  the  heading,  which  is  as  follows :  '  The  Anacreontic  Song — 
as  sung  at  the  Crown  and  Anchor  Tavern  in  the  Strand,  the  words  by  Ralph 
Tomlinson,  Esq.,  late  President  of  the  Society.  Price  6d;'  with  the  tune,  which 
was  composed  by  John  Stafford  Smith.  The  latter  published  '  The  Anacreontic 
Song,'  harmonized  by  the  author  at  page  33  '  of  A  fifth  book  of  canzonets, 
catches,  &c.,  sprightly  and  plaintive,  *  *  dedicated  by  permission  to  Viscount 
Dudley  and  Ward,  by  John  Staftbrd  Smith,  gent,  of  his  Majesty's  Chapel  Royal, 
author  *  *  and  of  the  Anacreontic  and  other  popular  songs.'  *  *  1  did  not  take 
note  of  the  date  of  first  publication,  but  the  song  was  sufiiciently  popular  to 
be  pirated  in  Scotland  in  1786,  it  being  included,  with  the  music,  in  the  Musi- 
cal Miscellany  of  that  year,  and  again  in  1788,  in  Callio])e,  or  the  Musical  Mis- 
cellany, Edinburgh.  1788.  8vo.  J.  Stafford  Smith  is  said  to  have  been  born  in 
Gloucester  about  1750.  The  Anacreontic  Club,  of  which  Mr.  Tomlinson  was 
first  (?)  president,  was  a  jovial  musical  society  for  singing  choral  and  part-music, 
catches,  canons,  and  so  on.  I  transcribe  a  few  musical  notes  at  the  foot  for 
identification." 

The  replies  to  the  inquiries  extensively  made  for  these  facts,  shew  that  the 
above  extracts  will  be  read  with  great  interest  by  scholars  and  musicians  in 
this  country,  and  the  gunerous  courtesy  of  Mr.  Chappell  will  be  appreciated  by 
many  who  know  his  name  and  his  works.  The  Biographical  Dictionaries  give 
the  time  of  John  Stafford  Smith,  from  about  1750  to  1836,  and  mention  his 


The  song  "To  Anacreon"  is  always  admired  on  first  ac- 
quaintance, but  it  has  not  gained  a  place  among  verses 
which  make  men  stronger  and  happier  in  remembering 
them.  Though  it  is  free  from  grossness,*  it  is  a  bacchana- 
lian song,  and,  like  its  subject,  it  must  be  a  transient  pleas- 
ure at  the  best.  It  is  said  that  in  the  first  flush  of  popu- 
larity, its  rhythm  and  music-  were  used  for  poetical  efforts 
more  short-lived  than  itself,  I  do  not  discover  that  it  was 
a  favorite  when  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Jr.,  used  its  measure 
in  his  spirited  song,  entitled  "Adams  and  Liberty,"  which 
was  written  for  and  first  sung  at  the  anniversary  of  the 
Massachusetts  Charitable  Fire  Society  in  Boston,  on  June 
1,  1798. 

Its  first  words — 

Ye  sons  of  Columbia,  who  bravely  have  fought 

For  those  rights,  which  unstained  from  your  sires  have  descended ; 

And  the  energetic  chorus — 

For  the  sons  of  Columbia  will  never  be  slaves, 

While  the  earth  bears  a  plant  or  the  sea  rolls  its  waves — 

eminence  as  a  musical  composer;    The  Free  Public  Library  of  Worcester  has 
an  odd  volume  of  Calliope,  (the  second),  which  does  not  contain  the  song. 

In  a  subsequent  publication,  of  the  substance  of  his  letter  in  Notes  and  Que- 
ries, 4  s.  vol.  11,  Mr.  Chappell  adds  the  interesting  statement  that  the  club  "  is 
now  the  Whittington  Club;  but  in  the  last  century  it  was  frequented  by  such 
men  as  Dr.  Johnson,  Boswell,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and  Dr.  Percy,  especially 
to  sup  there."  The  name  "Whittington,"  commemorates  him  of  the  cat,  whose 
obedience  to  the  voice  of  the  chimes,  "  Turn  again,  Whittington,  thrice  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,"  has  long  been  held  up  to  encourage  boys  to  stay  at  home. 
Richard  Whittington's  cat,  his  inseparable  companion  and  the  founder  of  his 
fortune,  is  a  dangerous  subject  to  handle,  as  Notes  and  Queries,  and  other 
books  will  show.  The  easiest  way  of  disposing  of  the  question  is  to  adopt  the 
explanation  of  an  authority  free  from  antiquarian  partialities,  Sam.  Foote,  who, 
in  the  comedy  entitled  the  "  Nabobs,"  gives  an  address  of  Sir  Matthew  Mite  to 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  in  which  he  maintains  that  the  Cat  was  a  kind  of 
lighter,  in  which  coal  was  brought  to  the  London  market, — and  he  is  sustained 
by  the  dictionaries. 

*  The  character  of  the  club  and  the  tastes  of  the  time  being  considered. 


8 

"Will  bring  to  mind  its  high  sentiments  and  swelling  sound, 
well  suited  for  musical  expression  and  enthusiastic  effect. 
Though  it  was  brought  out  in  a  time  of  great  party  bitter- 
ness, and  it  was  exclusively  claimed  by  one  of  the  parties, 
it  has  nothing  but  the  language  of  the  broadest  patriotism. 
With  all  its  merits,  it  was  never  universally  accepted  as  a 
national  song,  and  the  recent  "Library  of  Poetry  and  Song," 
published  under  the  sanction  of  the  honored  name  of  Wil- 
liam CuUen  Bryant,  has  rescued  from  oblivion  "Sally  in  our 
Alley,"  but  has  no  room  for  the  Sons  of  Columbia.  Some 
reasons  for  this  failure  may  be  briefly  stated.  The  name 
of  the  wise  patriot  at  the  head  of  the  government,  which 
was  a  part  of  the  title  of  the  song,  did  not  recommend  it. 
Tlie  broad  waves  of  democracy,  which  had  begun  to  carry 
Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  highest  place,  for  a  time  submerged 
the  merits  of  Mr.  Adams  and  his  federal  associates,  and 
federal  sentiments  and  federal  songs  lost  their  popular  pre- 
eminence. This  political  movement,  though  partially  un- 
just, was  not  wholly  injurious,  since  it  severed  the  last  rope 
that  bound  our  nation  to  the  fast-anchored  isle,  from  which 
it  had  been  launched.  Moreover,  there  was  a  felt,  though 
unacknowledged,  incongruity  between  the  chorus  and  the 
condition  of  an  increasing  portion  of  our  inhabitants,  and 
the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  song  are  peculiar  to  the 
recent  struggle  and  the  escape  from  national  peril ;  and 
the  ideas  of  strength,  prosperity  and  progress  are  not  set 
forth  as  they  should  be  in  a  national  song.* 


*Mr.  Paine  made  other  less  successful  efforts  to  produce  national  songs,  of  which 
the  most  worthy  of  notice  is  his  contribution  of  a  soug  entitled  Spain,  set  to  the 
music  of  "To  Anacreon,"  for  a  Boston  festival  in  honor  of  the  Spanish  patriots, 
on  January  24, 1809.  The  most  respected  of  the  33,000  inhabitants  of  the  good 
old  town  honored  the  occasion  with  their  presence,  and  were  regaled  by  eight 


9 

After  sixteen  years,  in  which  the  tune  of  the  Anacreontic 
song  was  seldom  heard  in  this  country  or  in  Europe,  it  was 
applied  to  the  pathetic  verses  of  Mr.  Key.  A  few  words 
may  be  permitted  concerning  the  questioned  right  to  use 
this  rhythm  and  music  for  an  American  song.  Notes  and 
Queries  (2d  S.  V.  6,  429)  quotes  from  "amusing  letters 
from  America,"  this  passage.  "The  air  of  'The  Star  Span- 
gled Banner,'  which  our  cousins,  with  their  customary  im- 
pudence of  assertion,  claim  as  their  own,  is  almost  note 
for  note  that  of  the  fine  old  English  song,  'When  Vulcan 
forged  the  bolts  of  Jove.'"  That  the  song  "When  Vulcan 
forged"  vfec,  written  by  Thomas  Dibdin,  "is  very  little,  if 
at  all,  older  than  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  and  its  verses 
are  not  fitted  to  the  same  tune,  are,  to  an  amusing  writer^ 
facts  "of  no  consequence."  The  quoted  passage  is  a  missile 
that  has  so  often  been  thrown  across  the  water,  that  it  is 
worth  wliile  to  pick  it  up  and  examine  it  for  a  moment. 

original  odes  and  songs  from  well  known  and  favorite  poets.  These  are  fully 
reported  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "Spain,"  with  copyright  secured  in  behalf  of 
Mr.  Paine,  preserved  in  the  American  Antiquarian  Library,  and  elsewhere.  It 
would  not  be  expected  that  the  great  city,  from  its  present  extent  and  resources, 
could  set  forth  such  an  abundant  treat.  The  first  in  the  book  and  in  popular 
favor  at  the  time,  is  Mr.  Paine's  song,  which  is  overloaded  with  absurd  rhodo- 
raontade,  and  a  sad  failure  as  a  whole.  But  it  has  some  pleasant  fancies,  and 
the  7th  verse  is  offered  as  the  most  favorable  specimen : 

O,  to  Spain  let  thy  gratitude  redolent  burn; 

First  thy  freedom  to  own,  first  thy  shores  to  discover. 
Hark  I    Her  patriots  with  pride  tell  the  tyrant  they  spurn. 
That  the  new  world  she  found,  and  the  old  will  recover. 
For  commerce  and  thee 
She  unbosomed  the  sea. 
And  demands  that  the  gates  of  the  ocean  be  free. 
Then  swear  from  pollution,  like  Spain,  thou  wilt  save 
Thy  flag  and  thy  altars,  thy  home  and  thy  grave. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  S.  J.  Gardiner  is  mentioned  by  tradition  as  one  of  the  authors,  but 
it  is  diflicult  to  conjecture  which  poem  is  most  worthy  of  his  well  deserved  repu- 
tation for  elegant  scholarship.  A  song,  called  the  "Vicar  of  Bray,"  is  said  to 
be  the  work  of  Mr.  Buxton,  an  Englishman,  who  was  noted  for  humorous  wit. 

2 


10 

The  English  language  and  its  treasures  are  the  property  of 
those  who  emigrated  from  the  parent  country  and  of  those 
who  remained  there.  And  the  emigrants  have  not  been 
wanting  in  successful  efforts  to  add  something  to  the  com- 
mon store.  When  frauds  are  perpetrated  against  the  indi- 
vidual producer's  right  to  honor  or  profit,  as  has  occurred 
on  both  sides,  let  the  offenders  be  punished  severely,  as 
they  will  be,  by  shame  and  loss.  But,  in  this  case,  there 
was  no  fraud  and  no  injury.  A  musical  composition,  little 
regarded,  was  openly  taken  up  as  a  neglected  estra}',  and 
attached  to  verses,  with  which  it  was  more  effective  than 
with  the  original  words.  An  advantageous  use  gives  a 
better  right  of  property  than  a  profitless  discovery  or  in- 
vention. No  one  reproaches  the  Protestants  of  England 
that  tliey  took  possession  of  an  obscure  French  tune, 
and  by  a  change  in  its  movement  adapted  it  to  their 
taste,  and  their  religious  comfort  and  edification,  as  "Old 
Hundred." 


It  will  not  be  regretted  by  friends,  that  the  five  other  poets  have  not  been 
discovered. 

It  is  not  inappropriate  to  add  that  our  associate,  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D. 
mentions  a  patriotic  offshoot  of  the  Anacreontic  song,  per'iaps  as  good  as  any 
other  commonly  known  before  1814,  which  he  finds  in  "The  New  York  Remem- 
brancer, or  the  Songster's  Magazine,'"  printed  in  Albany  in  1802.  This  is  a 
song  "full  of  '  anti-Gall icanism,'  and  inspired  perhaps,  by  Adams'  Message  of 
1797,  or  by  the  abrogation  of  the  treaty  with  France  in  1798."    It  begins — 

"To  the  Gods,  who  preside  o'er  the  nations  below, 
On  Olympus'  high  summit  convened  in  full  session, 
America's  Genius,  with  laurel-wreathed  brow. 
To  her  noble  constituents  preferred  this  petition : 
Let  Columbia  be  free ! 
To  confirm  this  decree. 
Be  their  charter  of  freedom  intrusted  to  me; 
Still  combine  in  firm  union  the  Eagle  and  Dove, 
The  trident  of  Neptune,  the  thunder  of  Jove." 

But  these  graceful  words  had  no  power  to  gain  popular  favor,  or  to  preserve 
the  remembrance  of  their  author. 


10 

The  English  language  and  its  treasures  are  the  property  of 
those  who  emigrated  from  the  parent  country  and  of  those 
who  remained  there.  And  the  emigrants  have  not  been 
wanting  in  successful  efforts  to  add  something  to  the  com- 
mon store.  When  frauds  are  perpetrated  against  the  indi- 
vidual producer's  right  to  honor  or  profit,  as  has  occurred 
on  both  sides,  let  the  offenders  be  punished  severely,  as 
they  will  be,  by  shame  and  loss.  But,  in  this  case,  there 
was  no  fraud  and  no  injury.  A  musical  composition,  little 
regarded,  was  openly  taken  up  as  a  neglected  estraj,  and 
attached  to  verses,  with  which  it  was  more  effective  than 
with  the  original  words.  An  advantageous  use  gives  a 
better  right  of  property  than  a  profitless  discovery  or  in- 
vention. No  one  reproaches  the  Protestants  of  England 
that  they  took  possession  of  an  obscure  French  tune, 
and  by  a  change  in  its  movement  adapted  it  to  their 
taste,  and  their  religious  comfort  and  edification,  as  "Old 
Hundred." 


It  will  not  be  regretted  by  friends,  that  the  ftve  other  poets  have  not  been 
discovered. 

It  is  not  inappropriate  to  add  that  onr  associate,  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  LL.D. 
mentions  a  patriotic  oflfshoot  of  the  Anacreontic  song,  per'iaps  as  good  as  any 
other  commonly  known  before  1814,  which  he  finds  in  "The  New  York  Kemem- 


An  editorial  of  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser  of  May  1,  1873,  states 
that  the  song  referred  to  by  Mr.  Trumbull,  was  written  for  the  celebration  of 
the  birthday  of  President  Adams,  by  Jonathan  Mitchell  Sewall,  of  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  (born  1745,  died  1808)  who  made  a  figure  at  the  bar  of  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire.  This  song  was  very  successful  at  the  time  and  encouraged 
Mr.  Sewall  to  try  again  in  the  same  measure  and  with  greater  fervor  on  the 
President's  next  birthday.  He  published  other  poetry,  of  which  very  clever 
versions  of  the  poems  of  Ossian  were  popular.  But  his  work  for  all  time,  is 
this  ofteu  quoted  couplet  from  his  epilogue  to  the  Tragedy  of  Cato,  written  for 
the  opening  of  a  theatre  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  iu  1778: 

"No  pent  up  Utica  contracts  your  powers. 
But  the  whole  boundless  continent  is  yours." 


11 

For  a  time  the  words  of  the  Star  Spangled  Banner  were 
occasionally  sung  by  the  cultivated  and  refined,  but  they 
were  too  sad  for  the  spirit  of  a  strong  and  ambitious 
people.  Bat  after  forty  years  a  cloud  of  anxiety  and  peril 
came  over  our  land,  that  was  faintly  shadowed  in  the  night 
watch  of  Mr.  Key.  Then  strength  and  endurance  were 
gladly  sought  in  sympathy  with  the  devoted  patriotism  and 
confident  hope  that  he  has  so  strongly  expressed.  That 
darkness  has  now  passed,  and  the  music,  that  cheered  it, 
will  not  be  heard  above  the  loud  and  joyful  tones  of  pros- 
perity and  ambition.  The  instrumental  accompaniment  and 
the  thrilling  chorus,  worthy  of  the  most  beautifiil  national 
flag  on  the  earth,  will  be  a  constant  and  untiring  gratifica- 
tion to  the  ear  and  the  heart  of  an  American.  But  the 
words  now  in  use  will  not  be  accepted  as  a  permanent 
national  song. 

The  distinction  of  being  the  undisputed  and  most  approved 
American  national  song  is  conceded  to  "Hail  Columbia," 
which  was  written  in  1798,  by  Joseph  Hopkinson,  LL.D., 
of  Philadelphia,  for  the  benefit  of  an  actor  named  Fox. 
The  Columbian  Centinel,  of  May  2,  1798,  on  the  shelves  of 
your  library,  gives  the  verses  as  we  have  them,  and  states 
that  "it  has  been  sung  on  the  boards  of  Philadelphia." 
The  Historical  Magazine,  vol.  5,  page  282,  on  authority  of 
William  McKoy,  of  Philadelphia,  in  Poulson's  Advertiser 
of  1829,  mentions  that  this  song  was  set  to  the  music  oi 
"The  President's  March"  by  Johannes  Roth,  a  German 
music  teacher  in  that  city.  And  the  Historical  Magazine, 
vol.  3,  page  23,  quotes  from  the  Baltimore  Clipper  of 
1841,  that  "The  President's  March"  was  composed  by 
Protessor  Phyla,  of  Pliiladelphia,  and  was  played  at  Treu- 


12 

ton  in  1789, — 'wlien  Washington  passed  over  to  New  York 
to  be  inaugm-ated, — as  it  was  stated  by  a  son  of  Professor 
Phyla,  wlio  was  one  of  the  performers.  The  thoughts 
of  "Hail  Columbia"  are  elevated  and  refined,  but  they 
are  peculiar  to  the  circumstances  of  its  origin.  They  are 
directed  to  the  conflict  that  has  just  ceased,  the  efforts 
necessary  to  secure  its  fruits,  and  the  possibihty  of  future 
peril,  with  a  just  tribute  to  Washington  and  the  other 
heroes  and  statesmen  on  whom  the  nation  relies.  With 
these  qualities  it  has  never  satisfied  the  demand  for  a 
national  patriotic  song,  and  as  time  goes  on,  it  is  called  for, 
in  the  absence  of  a  better,  with  increasing  infrequency. 

"Yankee  Doodle"  is  a  national  property,  but  it  is  not 
a  treasure  of  the  highest  value.  It  has  some  antiquarian 
claims,  for  which  its  warmest  friends  do  not  care.  It  can- 
not be  disowned,  and  it  will  not  be  disused.  In  its  own 
older  words, 

"  It  saits  for  feasts,  it  suits  for  fbn, 
And  just  as  well  for  fighting." 

And  its  easy  utterance  and  fearless  and  frolicsome 
humor  make  its  accompaniment  welcome  on  fit  occasions, 
and  preserve  its  popularity.  It  exists  now  as  an  'instru- 
mental, and  not  as  a  vocal  performance.  Its  words  are 
never  heard,  and  I  think  would  not  be  acceptable  in 
America  for  public  or  private  entertainments.  And  its 
music  must  be  silent  when  serious  purposes  are  enter- 
tained and  men's  hearts  are  moved  to  high  efforts  and 
great  sacrifices.  As  a  song  Yankee  Doodle  has  not  a 
national  character. 

To  give  an  accomit  of  the  Sapphic  ode  called  "  The  Amer- 


13 

ican  Hero,"  written  by  Hon.  and  Rev,  Nathan  Niles,  and 
verj  popular  in  Connecticut  during  the  revolutionary  war, 
and  to  describe  other  abortive  attempts  to  furnish  a  national 
song,  would  suit  the  patience  of  the  study  of  an  antiquary 
better  than  the  small  share  that  I  can  claim  of  this  brief 
session.  But  I  cannot  omit  to  say  a  few  words  on  the 
recent  efforts  to  obtain  a  national  song  by  transplanting  the 
old  English  anthem  God  save  the  King.  The  most  accept- 
able of  these  is  the  anthem  called  America,  beginning, 
"  My  country  'tis  of  thee,"  and  following  the  air  and  metre, 
of  its  original.  The  author  is  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Francis 
Smith,  a  professor  in  Colby  University,  and  an  eminent  man 
for  learning  and  character  in  the  distinguished  class  that 
graduated  from  Harvard  University  in  1829.  The  anthem 
has  much  merit  of  thought  and  expression,  but  when  it  is 
sung  it  excites  little  enthusiasm,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
it  is  received  with  the  limited  satisfaction,  with  which  a  man 
might  wear  a  coat  that  was  borrowed  and  altered.  Such 
imitations  will  never  be  recognized  as  national  songs. 
There  is  much  evidence  that  the  tune  has,  in  some  degree, 
the  character  of  national  music  in  Prussia  at  the  suggestion 
or  with  the  sanction  of  royal  authority  before  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Empire.  But  it  cannot  be  beheved  that  this 
importation  will  be  permitted  to  have  a  place  above  or  at 
the  side  of  the  peculiar  national  songs  of  which  Fatherland 
is  proud.  The  Enghsh  anthem  must  be  welcome  there,  as 
in  France  and  in  this  country,  for  its  excellent  music  and 
appropriate  words.  But  a  national  patriotic  song  must  be 
partial  and  exclusive,  for  it  is  designed  to  excite  loyalty, 
and  not  to  cultivate  good  will  among  nations. 


14 

*  The  weight  of  evidence  is  in  favor  of  the  claims  of 
Henry  Carey,  Mus.  D.,  who  lived  from  1692  to  1743,  to 
the  authorship  of  the  poetry  and  music  of  "God  Save  the 
King."  Of  Dr.  Carey,  his  friend  Jean  Frederic  Lampe 
said :  "  His  musical  instruction  did  not  enable  him  to  put  a 
bass  to  his  own  ballads."  This  noble  anthem  was  made  for 
the  honor  of  George  the  Second,  who  otherwise  received 
little  honor  from  his  subjects  and  their  posterity.  Such  is 
the  strange  origin  of  the  grandest  patriotic  song  in  the 
English  language.  We  may  learn  what  our  American 
national  song  should  be,  by  observing  what  the  ancient 
model  is  in  its  several  parts.  The  notes  are  emphatic  as  a 
chant,  easily  learned  and  distinctly  sounded  by  many,  so 
that  the  singers  hear  and  are  moved  by  the  very  words  of 
their  companions  ;  and  this  effect  is  aided  by  the  shortness 
of  the  words.  Though  the  air  is  simple,  it  is  fitted  to  rise 
with  the  strength  of  feeling.  It  appeals  with  power  to 
loyalty,  which  in  a  monarchy  is  devotion  to  the  king,  his 
crown  and  dignity.  It  is  suited  to  all  the  changes  of 
national  life,  to  joy  or  grief,  to  peace  or  war,  to  anxiety  or 
triumph.  It  has  enough  of  the  progressive  and  aggressive 
character  to  gratify  the  Anglo-Saxon  temper,  and  the 
attractive  spice  of  party  spirit  is  not  wanting.  And  it  is 
pervaded  with  an  expression  of  religious  trust  that  is  more 
grateful  to  the  mind  of  man   than   our   philosophers   are 


*  Notes  and  Queries,  M  s.  Vol.  10,  page  301.  Georgian  Era,  vol.  4,  page  241, 
and  Cliambers'  Encyclopaedia.  Mr.  William  Chappell,  alluding  to  songs  sup- 
posed to  be  the  original  of  the  English  anthem,  which  cannot  be  sung  to  the 
well  known  tune,  writes  in  a  note  in  7th  vol.  of  2d  s.  Notes  and  Queries,  page 
227,  that  "  all  that  have  hitherto  been  traced  to  a  period  earlier  thau  the  reign 
of  George  II.  are  of  this  class."  There  is  a  general  acquiescence  in  the  decision 
of  Mr.  Chappell,  in  2d  vol.  of  Popular  Music  of  the  Olden  Time,  that  Dr.  Henry 
Carey  is  the  author  of  the  anthem,  and  other  authorities  concur. 


15 


willing  to  admit.  A  patriotic  song  equally  well  adapted  to 
our  institutions  would  be  an  ornament  and  a  strength  to 
our  nation,  and  an  untiring  enjoyment  to  our  people. 


Frequent  inquiries  for  the  words  of  the  Anacreontic  Song 
and  its  two  most  famous  offshoots  prove  that  there  is  more 
extended  interest  in  them  than  was  expected,  and  that  the 
songs  are  not  contained  in  books  in  common  use.  They  are 
therefore  appended  to  this  paper;  and,  placed  side  by  side, 
they  will  show  more  distinctly  their  peculiar  beauties  and  their 
sui-prising  dissimilarity. 


TO   ANACREON   IN   HEAVEN. 


WORDS  BY  RALPH  TOMLINSON,  ESQ.,  1775  TO  1836. 

M^usic  by  John  Stafford  Smith,  Gent,  of  His  Majesty's  Chapel  R'^yal, 
who  lived  from  1750  to  1836. 


To  Anacreou  in  heaven,  where  he  sat  in  full  glee, 

A  few  sons  of  Harmony  sent  a  petition, 
That  he  their  inspirer  and  patron  would  be. 
When  this  answer  arrived  from  the  jolly  old  Grecian : 
"Voice,  fiddle,  and  flute, 
*'  No  longer  be  mute, 
"  I'll  lend  ye  my  name,  and  inspire  ye  to  boot : 
"  And  besides,  I'll  instruct  you,  like  me,  to  entwine 
"  The  myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  vine." 

The  news  through  Olympus  immediately  flew : 

When  old  Thunder  pretended  to  give  himself  airs — 
"If  these  mortals  are  sufifered  their  scheme  to  pursue, 
"  The  devil  a  goddess  will  stay  above  stairs. 
"  Hark !  already  they  cry, 
"  In  transports  of  joy, 
"  Away  to  the  Sons  of  Anacreon  we'll  fly, 

"  And  there,  with  good  fellows,  we'll  learn  to  entwine 
"  The  myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  vine. 

"  The  yellow  hair'd  god  and  his  nine  fusty  maids, 

"  From  Helicon's  banks  will  incontinent  flee ; 
"  Idalia  will  boast  of  but  tenantless  shades, 
"  And  the  biforked  hill  a  mere  desert  will  be ; 
"  My  thunder,  no  fear  o'nt, 
"  Shall  soon  do  its  errand, 

"  And ,  I'll  swinge  the  ringleaders,  I  warrant ; 

"  I'll  trim  the  young  dogs,  for  thus  daring  to  twine 
"The  myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  vine." 


19 


Apollo  rose  up  and  said,  "  Pr'ythee  ne'er  quarrel, 

"  Good  king  of  the  gods,  with  my  votaries  below; 
"  Your  thunder  is  useless ;" — then,  showing  his  laurel, 
Cried,  '^Sic  evitabile  fulmen,  you  know! 
"  Then  over  each  head 
"  My  laurel  I'll  spread, 
"  So  my  sons  from  your  crackers  no  mischief  shall  dread, 
"  Whilst  snug  in  their  club-room  they  jovially  twine 
"  The  myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  vine." 

Next  Momus  got  up,  with  his  risible  phiz, 

And  swore  with  Apollo  he'd  cheerfully  join — 
"The  full  tide  of  harmony  still  shall  be  his, 
"  But  the  song,  and  the  catch,  and  the  laugh,  shall  be  mine. 
"Then,  Jove,  be  not  jealous 
"  Of  these  honest  fellows." 
Cried  Jove,  "  We  relent,  since  the  truth  you  now  tell  us ; 
"  And  swear,  by  old  Styx,  that  they  long  shall  entwine 
"  The  myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  vine." 

Ye  sons  of  Anacreon,  then  join  hand  in  hand; 

Preserve  unanimity,  friendship  and  love. 
'Tis  yours  to  support  what's  so  happily  planned ; 
You've  the  sanction  of  gods  and  the  fiat  of  Jove. 
While  thus  we  agree. 
Our  toast  let  it  be — 
"May  our  club  flourish  happy,  united  and  free, 
"And long  may  the  Sons  of  Anacreon  entwine 
"  The  myrtle  of  Venus  with  Bacchus's  vine." 


ADAMS  AND  LIBERTY. 


WORDS   BY  BOBERT  TBKA^T  PAINE— FIR8T  SUNG  JUNE  1,  1798. 


Tune  of  the  Anacreontic  Song. 


Ye  sons  of  Columbia,  who  bravely  have  fought 

For  those  rights,  which  unstained  from  your  sires  had  descended, 
May  you  long  taste  the  blessings  your  valor  has  bought. 
And  your  sons  reap  the  soil,  which  their  fathers  defended. 
'Mid  the  reign  of  mild  peace, 
May  your  nation  increase, 
With  the  glory  of  Rome,  and  the  wisdom  of  Greece ; 
And  ne'er  shall  the  sons  of  Columbia  be  slaves. 
While  the  earth  bears  a  plant,  or  the  sea  rolls  its  waves. 


In  a  clime,  whose  rich  vales  feed  the  marts  of  the  world, 

Whose  shores  are  unshaken  by  Europe's  commotion. 
The  trident  of  Commerce  should  never  be  hurled. 
To  incense  the  legitimate  powers  of  the  ocean — 
But  should  pirates  invade, 
Though  in  thunder  arrayed. 
Let  your  cannon  declare  the  free  charter  of  trade. 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons,  &c. 

The  fame  of  our  arms,  of  our  laws  the  mild  sway, 

Had  justly  ennobled  our  nation  in  story. 
Till  the  dark  cloud  of  faction  obscured  our  young  day. 
And  enveloped  the  sun  of  American  glory. 
But  let  traitors  be  told, 
Who  their  country  have  sold. 
And  bartered  their  God  for  his  image  in  gold. 
That  ne'er  will  the  sons,  &c. 


21 

While  France  her  huge  limbs  bathes  recumbent  in  blood, 

And  Society's  base  threats  with  wide  dissolution ; 
May  Peace,  like  the  dove  who  returned  from  the  flood, 
Find  an  ark  of  abode  in  our  mild  Constitution. 
But  though  Peace  is  our  aim, 
Yet  the  boon  we  disclaim 
If  bought  by  our  Sov'reignty,  Justice  or  Fame. 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons,  &c 

"Tis  the  fire  of  the  flint,  each  American  warms ; 

Let  Rome's  haughty  victors  beware  of  collision; 
Let  them  bring  all  the  vassals  of  Europe  in  arms, 
Were  a  world  by  ourselves,  and  disdain  a  division. 
While  with  patriot  pride, 
To  our  laws  we're  allied. 
No  foe  can  subdue  us,  no  faction  divide. 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons,  &c. 

Our  mountains  are  crowned  with  imperial  oak, 

Whose  roots,  like  our  liberties,  ages  have  nourished; 
But  long  ere  our  nation  submits  to  the  yoke. 
Not  a  tree  shall  be  left  on  the  field  where  it  flourished. 
Should  invasion  impend, 
Every  grove  would  descend 
From  the  hill-tops  they  shaded,  our  shores  to  defend. 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons,  &c. 

Let  our  patriots  destroy  Anarch's  pestilent  worm, 

Lest  our  liberty's  growth  should  be  checked  by  corrosion ; 
Then  let  clouds  thicken  round  us — we  heed  not  the  storm — 
Our  realm  fears  no  shock  but  the  earth's  own  explosion. 
Foes  assail  us  in  vain, 
Though  their  fleets  bridge  the  main, 
For  our  altars  and  laws  with  our  lives  we'll  maintain. 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons,  &c. 

Should  the  tempest  of  War  overshadow  our  land, 

Its  bolts  could  ne'er  rend  Freedom's  temple  asunder; 
For  unmoved  at  its  portal,  would  Washington  stand. 
And  repulse  with  his  breast,  the  assaults  of  the  thunder ! 
His  sword  from  the  sleep 
Of  its  scabbard  would  leap. 
And  conduct  with  its  point,  every  flash  to  the  deep  1 
For  ne'er  shall  the  sons,  &c. 


22 


Let  Farae  to  the  world  sound  America's  voice ; 

No  intrigues  can  her  sons  from  their  government  sever; 
Her  pride  is  lier  Adams ;  her  laws  are  his  choice, 
And  shall  flourish  till  Liberty  slumbers  forever. 
Then  unite  heart  and  hand, 
Like  Leonidas'  band, 
And  swear  to  the  God  of  the  ocean  and  land, 
That  ne'er  shall  the  sons  of  Columbia  be  slaves, 
While  the  earth  bears  a  plant,  or  the  sea  rolls  its  waves. 


THE   STAR  SPANGLED  BANNER. 


WHITTEN  IN  SEPTEMBER,  1814,  BT  FRANCIS  SCOTT  KEY. 


Tune  of  ^^To  the  Sons  of  Anacreon.' 


O  say,  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's  early  light, 

What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming? 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  through  the  perilous  fight, 
O'er  the  ramparts  we  watched,  were  so  gallantly  streaming ! 
And  the  rocket's  red  glare. 
The  bombs  bursting  in  air. 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there ; 
O  say,  does  that  star  spangled  banner  yet  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ? 


On  that  shore,  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of  the  deep, 
Where  the  foe's  haughty  host  in  dread  silence  reposes. 
What  is  that  which  the  breeze,  o'er  the  towering  steep. 
As  it  fitfully  blows,  now  conceals,  now  discloses  ? 
Now  it  catches  the  gleam 
Of  the  morning's  first  beam — 
In  full  glory  reflected — now  shines  on  the  stream — 
'Tis  the  star  spangled  banner !     O,  lonor  may  it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 


And  where  is  that  band  who  so  vanntingly  swore 

That  the  havoc  of  war  and  the  battle's  confusion 
A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more  ? 
Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  footsteps'  pollution. 
No  refuge  could  save 
The  hireling  and  slave 
From  the  terror  of  flight,  or  the  gloom  of  the  grave ; 
And  the  star  spangled  banner  in  triumph  doth  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 


24 

O,  thus  be  it  ever  when  freemen  shall  stand 

Between  their  loved  homes  and  the  war's  desolation ! 
Blest  with  victory  and  peace,  may  the  heaven-rescued  land 
Praise  the  Power  that  hath  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation. 
Then  conquer  we  must, 
When  our  cause  it  is  just, 
And  this  be  our  motto — *'  In  God  is  our  trust :" 
And  the  star  spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 


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